Steelers’ brutal AFC North schedule isn’t unfair, NFL exec says

The Pittsburgh Steelers have played divisional football since 1967, when the NFL first split its two conferences into what were then four divisions. That year, they didn’t have to wait long to play their first division game. The St. Louis Cardinals came to Pittsburgh in week two.

Fifty-seven years later, the Steelers are making history. In the Steelers’ 2024 schedule, their first AFC North game won’t take place until Week 11, the latest start of divisional play in team history. In fact, not only is this the last start in team history, but no team since at least 2002 has had a schedule like this, so it’s a very unique situation.

Only once in team history has the first division breakup occurred after midseason. It was 1991, when their first AFC Central game came against the Cleveland Browns in Week 9. Since then, they have had two Week 7 starts to play in the AFC North, but nothing compared to what they are facing this season. But NFL vice president Mike North said that wasn’t intentional.

“We certainly didn’t plan to have divisional games this late,” NFL vice president of broadcast planning Mike North said during Thursday’s conference call with reporters. “It’s like a college basketball program with early conference absences. It wasn’t intentional, but it’s not something we looked at and thought was unfair. You talk about the physicality of divisional games, and I’m not sure an NFL game isn’t a physical contest.

So I don’t like to use the term legacy when I talk about someone like Howard Katz because he’s still here, and I hope he’s here for the long haul, but if there’s a legacy of Howard Katz’s schedules are the late divisional games. the season. So, that’s something that we look for and even favor, without forcing it, other than week 18, obviously, more divisional games late in the season usually means fewer teams clinching playoff spots and even if you have a team that is eliminated from the playoffs you can throw away the records and those teams are still playing hard…we didn’t anticipate that the Steelers and I think the Bears wouldn’t play a divisional game until week 9 or 10. This is definitely something we will consider moving forward, but not necessarily a disqualification.

LATEST STEELERS FIRST DIVISION GAMES

1979, Week 6 at Cleveland Browns
1981, Week 6 vs. the Cleveland Browns
1991, Week 9 at Cleveland Browns
Week 7 of 2005 at the Cincinnati Bengals
Week 7 of 2012 at the Cincinnati Bengals

“They’re grouped together,” team president Art Rooney II told Steelers.com. “It’s probably going to be quite a long period and it’s certainly going to be a significant period. It’s rather unusual. I’m not sure I remember ever having one like this, where we don’t play any divisional games until the end of the season. It’s something different.

Steelers RB Jaylen Warren faces Cleveland Browns, November 19, 2023 – Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

The schedule requires the Steelers to close strong and win their games in the AFC North, something they have done well in recent years. Since 2020, the Steelers are 16-8 against division opponents and 11-5 over the final four weeks of the season. This history should give the team an advantage in this season’s tough divisional stretch.

RELATED: Christmas Game Introduces Brutal Stretch to Steelers 2024 Schedule

“We never take anything for granted. The teams in our division are all tough,” Rooney said. “Some would say we have the toughest division in football, and I would probably agree with that. They will all be difficult matches. It will be a challenge.”

The only thing going in their favor this year is their bye week, which takes place in Week 9, just before the divisional challenge begins. They had a bye at the start of Week 6 last week. However, the NFL does not view the schedule as unfair to the Steelers. The second half of the schedule is brutal because of AFC North opponents, but Pittsburgh will need to overcome that to make the playoffs.

RELATED: Saunders NFL favored Steelers with backloaded schedule